2018 AirPods Have Listeners Wishing For Noise Cancellation

Apple hit a home run with the AirPods, which were released in limited quantities one year ago. They were almost impossible to find at a store during the first half of 2017. Now, as the Verge points out, the AirPods are still difficult to find.

“Online shoppers scrambling to grab a pair of Apple’s AirPods in time for the holiday gift-giving season are out of luck. Apple’s online store says buyers can expect delivery around the first and second weeks of January.”

The article adds that finding Apple’s buds at a store will also be difficult since places like Best Buy, Target, and Walmart are all waiting for more shipments. However, it’s doubtful that they will receive these shipments before Christmas. Perhaps the success of the AirPods took Apple by surprise, which may be a reason why the supply was never able to keep up with the demand.

The AirPods received instant praise as Rolling Stone called them “pretty fu***ng cool,” and Forbes claimed they were made of pure magic. Well, it looks like things are going to get even more magical since KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says Apple will release an upgraded version of the AirPods sometime during the second half of 2018. Mac Rumors has the news.

“Kuo said one internal change on the second-generation AirPods will include a ‘smaller quartz component,’ but he didn’t provide any further details about new outward-facing features or improvements to expect.”

However, many commenters after the article expressed their wishes for the new AirPods. It appears that the majority want active noise cancellation or at least some sort of passive noise-isolation feature.

“Better sound and noise cancelling and I’m in,” declares RecentlyRecovered.

“Soft earbuds and noise cancellation would be my top wants,” says iZach1.

But there are some commenters who say they don’t want noise cancellation since they like hearing the outside world with the current AirPods.

Twitter has expressed wishes for the new AirPods as well.

Definitely. The problem I have with the current AirPods is that although they fit my ears well they tend to fall out when I’m doing weights (bench press). And…. they’re not great with noise isolation. I would pay $299 for extended battery life and noise cancellation. AirPod Pro?

— R?ger (@_kru5ty) December 11, 2017

Hopefully you can find the case and not just the AirPods when they are out of it.

— Mike Baroni (@TitleTownLife) December 19, 2017

Some of the other wishes for the AirPods are that they will have better sound quality, better battery life, and small physical control buttons. But noise cancellation or isolation seems to be at the top of everybody’s wish list. One would have to use the AirPods on a train or at a gym to understand why Apple needs to add this to the second generation AirPods. Still, most would agree that for $160, the current AirPods still make a fantastic gift — that is, if you can find them.